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For his first appearance as Zanta, Zancai showed up behind the street window of the CHUM-City Building and began performing.[2][5] As a result of Citytv using streetscapes as backdrop to live news programming, Zancai was frequently seen in the background of the morning news and entertainment program Breakfast Television. Reportedly aggravated by Zancai's presence, CHUM filed a number of complaints which resulted in Zancai being banned from the area of the building.[5] He violated this order, and as a result police banned him from the area south of College St. to King St., and from Yonge over to Spadina Ave.[5]

Since that time, Zancai has made appearances on Breakfast Television and claims to have a verbal agreement allowing him to make regular appearances on the television series Speakers' Corner.[2]

Zancai has been the subject of two amateur documentary films. In October 2005, graphic artists Muckney Tipping and Pietro Gagliano filmed Zancai describing his life events and motivation to become known worldwide.[6]

Zancai has attended several Christmas parades, pointing out that "Santa's at the back, while Zanta's at the front."[5]

Zancai guest-starred in Season 3, Episode 5 (Who Can Lift More Weight With Their Genitals) of Showcase Television's Kenny vs. Spenny as a replacement for Spencer Rice; Rice claimed he was suffering a nervous breakdown during the episode's production.

In August 2006, Zancai received a provincial probation order stating that he is "not permitted on any TTC property or vehicle other than surface routes" for two years. Most bus drivers in the city refuse him access to surface routes. Zancai is fighting the ban, with attorney handling his case pro bono. Former TTC Chairman Adam Giambrone acknowledged there is no specific TTC bylaw against doing push-ups on TTC property, but has defended the ban by stating that such behaviour may pose a "serious safety hazard".[1]

Adam Vaughan, a former Citytv reporter and councillor for Trinity—Spadina, has stated that Zancai is "a much-loved character when you don't have to do work around him" but he is nonetheless "probably a public nuisance," and that some people understandably take issue with his behaviour.[1] In an interview with the National Post, Vaughan stated: "Just because you have a right to freedom of speech doesn't mean you have a right to an audience. And when you impose yourself in a public space consistently and without much regard for whether other people can enjoy that public space, boundaries are broached."[1] Zancai's lawyer has responded by saying that Zancai is "entitled to be as strange as he wants to be" and has defended his right to make use of public spaces for doing pushups.[1]